Not quite a katana.....SEA sword surely..comments
 

Saw this ...hoped it would be a 'sleeper' , blade looks well forged, not certain as to the script .......but not Arabic surely? Bidding went mad at the close of the auction....totally outbid.....never mind
Was this sword worth as much as it sold for? Where did it come from?


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...:EOIBUAA:UK:11

Okay Rsword ... let's hear what you've got there . :)

For a minute I saw the metal decorations on the scabbard and thought Taiwan ; but I'm doubting that now .

I was watching this one also. I think it is something worth a closer look and probably worth what it sold for and more. I do not have any proof just a gut feeling

What about Indochina/Burma ? Very early Fake made for GI's when japanese troops still were in the former occuped territories as a police force ?
It has a copper (?) thing that would resemble an Habaki...

It is dated in arabic - 1365 (?), which loosely correspond to 1945. I would guess it is an islamic "japanese like" memorabilia, so it may be from some SEA country - Indonesia or parts of Phillipines ? I don't know anything about SEA weapons, sorry.

This is the type of sword that I enjoy on occasion. A "what the hell is this thing". It has some interesting combination of elements that caught my eye and I wanted to investigate further. The blade is rather Chinese in shape and fullering. I also thought the same as you , Rick, about the metal decoration on the scabbard. Seems Taiwanese. The Arabic script is interesting and I also noticed the date and thought it added to the mystery of the sword. The fingered, grooved grip is interesting as well and the attempt of an habaki and tsuba are obviously imitation of Japanese. Once I have it in hand I can make further assumptions. A good curio that most probably has an interesting story to tell.

This is very reminiscent of the WWII era swords made in imitation of Japanese katana in a number of Japanese-occupied areas. Southern Philippines or Indonesia seem the most likely sources -- I favor the former, althought the arabic date might be more consistent with Indonesia.

Ian.

I've seen ones just like this come from Indonesia made during WWII. May explain the script.